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The E&P Pub
This is a great blog. But, what I want you to see is the trailer for this film. I'm not promoting the film, per se, but I AM promoting good journalism, humanism and compassion. The film's based on the L.A. Times writer's (Steve Lopez) serial about a homeless schizophrenic musician. The film's been given Lopez' imprimatur, so I guess it's good and it's accurate. Mostly, though, it's about schizophrenia's intrusion on a wonderful man's life. And the movie's hopeful. If you'd like more info on the issue of schizophrenia, check out this site, too:
NARSAD http://narsad.org/
or this one
NIMH http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/ind... This is a great blog. But, what I want you to see is the trailer for this film. I'm not promoting the film, per se, but I AM prom... more -
Bipolar Disorder Linked To Older Fathers
Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking mental illness with advanced paternal age.
Previous research has connected schizophrenia and autism with older dads, and a Danish study published last year added bipolar disorder to the list. The new study led by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute strengthens the evidence.
The leading theory is that older men's sperm may be more likely to develop mutations. Even so, the odds of a person becoming bipolar are so low that the study's authors said it shouldn't dissuade older men from becoming fathers.
Researchers analyzed Swedish national registry data from more than 80,000 people, including 13,428 with bipolar disorder who were born between 1932 and 1991.
The risks started increasing around age 40 but were strongest among those 55 and older. Children born to these dads were 37 percent more likely to develop bipolar disorder than those born to men in their 20s.
They also faced more than double the risk of developing bipolar disorder before age 20. Scientists call that early onset disease, and while they have long known that bipolar disorder tends to run in families, early onset disease has been thought to be most strongly linked with genetics.
The age of the mothers didn't appear to be much of a factor.
The study, released Monday, appears in September's Archives of General Psychiatry.
While the findings don't explain what might cause some older men to have bipolar children, it "reinforces the notion that there's a strong biological component to this," said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chair of psychiatry at Columbia University.
Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings, from deep depression to manic highs. It affects more than 5 million Americans.
Lifetime risks for it have been estimated at roughly 1 percent to 4 percent. The study results suggest that having an older father might increase that slightly. The findings aren't definitive, but even if the link proves to be real, Pincus noted that still means most people with older fathers won't ever get bipolar disorder.
Factors involving mothers, including age and health, have long been thought to be most closely linked with birth defects and other abnormalities. But the new study adds to mounting evidence that paternal factors also play an important role, said New York University researcher Susan Harlap.
Sperm are produced throughout a man's lifetime, and scientists believe that as men age there is a greater chance for mutations that could contribute to disorders in their children.
Advanced paternal age also has been linked with birth defects, and some sperm banks have age limits for donors because of that.
While important for scientists, the study results shouldn't discourage older men from fathering children, said Emma Frans, the lead author.
She said the results suggest that similar mechanisms might contribute to risks for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism. Each of these disorders is thought to have many causes including biologic and outside factors. Children born to older fathers face a greater chance of developing bipolar disorder, according to one of the largest studies linking m... more -
It’s the dopamine that gets you high late in the night: Dopamine, wakefulness, cre...
There is a connection between the following: creativity, madness, dopamine, schizophrenia and schizotypy. This article studies them all. There is a connection between the following: creativity, madness, dopamine, schizophrenia and schizotypy. This article studies them al... more
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Schizophrenic stabbed man 82 times in front of children
A paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed a father to death in front of his children, after being released into the community and failing to take his medication, has been locked up for life.
Daniel Quelch, a 34-year-old father of three, suffered 82 knife wounds during the frenzied, random attack at his parents' bungalow.
Benjamin Frankum, 26, who had broken into the property as Mr Quelch slept, had been previously sectioned for his illness but was later released to live in supported accommodation.
Frankum was found at the scene of the murder outside Maidenhead, Berkshire, covered in blood and wearing only his boxer shorts. He told police he had been sent by MI5 to kill Mr Quelch and described how his victim "wouldn't die".
As Frankum was sentenced at Reading Crown Court to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act which will see him sent to Broadmoor Hospital for the rest of his life, Mr Quelch's parents described the murder as "the beginning of a nightmare that will never end".
The couple are now awaiting an independent inquiry into the events that led to the killing.
Mr Quelch's father, Ernest, a builder, said: "Somebody let him out of hospital and he was free to walk the streets.
"I would like to be sure he will never again be free to do to anyone else what he has done to us."
The jury had heard Mr Quelch was staying at his parents' house where his three children, aged eight, four and two, had been having a sleep-over party.
Prosecutor Nigel Daly had said what happened was "everybody's worst nightmare". He said: "Daniel Quelch was asleep in bed with his two-year-old son. Benjamin Frankum, a paranoid schizophrenic, came into his house. They did not know each other. And Mr Frankum stabbed Mr Quelch 82 times.
"The motive? There isn't one. There is no evidence he knew Mr Quelch. It was a totally motiveless crime."
Frankum had been in and out of hospital with mental illness, having been sectioned in 2001 and diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He had no history of violence or previous convictions.
Authorities allowed him to live in supported accommodation early in 2007 but he failed to take his medication, as he had failed to do many times in the past when released from hospital, the court heard.
Early on August 23 last year, he broke into a the Quelch's home.
After stabbing Mr Quelch to death, he gave his children cola and yogurt when they were woken up by the attack, the court heard.
Judge Zoe Smith had ruled Frankum unfit to stand trial for murder. A jury was instead asked to decide whether he was responsible for killing Mr Quelch and took just over an hour to convict him.
Mr Quelch, a landscape gardener from Spencers Wood, Reading, was described as a keen fisherman and a season-ticket holder at Reading FC.
After the case his mother, Barbara, said the family could not bring themselves to return to their home following the murder.
A family statement read: "It has been a terrible year – just the beginning of a nightmare that will never end. Everything in our lives has been changed forever by this one brutal crime.
"The material losses are nothing compared to the misery of the loss of Danny himself and we would give all we have to have him back.
A report published in 2006 found nearly one person a week dies at the hands of a psychiatric patient.
The report concluded a third of the killings were by people not judged to be a danger and a sixth were blamed on patients not taking their medication. A paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed a father to death in front of his children, after being released into the community and failing t... more -
Stress of war may help cause schizophrenia
Pregnant women who live through wars are more likely to give birth to a child who develops schizophrenia, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday in a study linking prenatal stress with the mental illness.
Babies born to women who were in their second month of pregnancy during the height of the 1967 Arab-Israeli "Six-Day" War were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia as adults, they found.
Similar patterns are likely among many stressed women, said Dr. Dolores Malaspina of the New York University School of Medicine, who led the study.
Epigenetic changes affect how a gene works, but not the DNA sequence itself. Schizophrenia, which affects about 1.1 percent of the population globally, is know to have some genetic causes but many cases have no known family links. Pregnant women who live through wars are more likely to give birth to a child who develops schizophrenia, U.S. researchers reported on... more -
Low marks linked to schizophrenia
Poor performance at school could indicate an increased risk of later developing schizophrenia, a study says.
UK and Swedish researchers followed more than 900,000 children born between 1973 and 1983. The Psychological Medicine paper found getting an E grade in any GCSE-stage exam was linked to a doubling of the small risk of developing schizophrenia. But a mental health charity said the illness was often linked with high, rather than low, intelligence.
Schizophrenia, which commonly causes people to hear voices and experience paranoid delusions, often becomes evident in the late teens or early 20s.
The researchers, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, looked at Swedish data on exam results taken at the age of 15 or 16. They then looked at hospital data on admissions for psychotic disorders including schizophrenia after the age of 17.
Read more... Poor performance at school could indicate an increased risk of later developing schizophrenia, a study says. ... more -
Aussie scientists treating female schizophrenics with 'oestrogen'
Australian scientists are taking a novel approach in treating women with schizophrenia. They have just published the findings of a clinical trial using the female hormone oestrogen.
The link between women's hormones and their moods is well known.
Life cycle studies have shown that women are more vulnerable to a first episode of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia at times of hormonal changes, such as post-pregnancy or menopause.
There is also some evidence from animal studies that the female hormone oestrogen acts as an anti-psychotic.
Professor Jayashri Kulkarni from the Alfred Hospital and Monash University in Melbourne wanted to see what effect oestrogen had on women with schizophrenia.
One hundred and two women were given a patch of either active hormone or a placebo.
Participants were not told what they were using.
They took their other anti-psychotic medications during the trial.
Researchers said those on the hormone treatment had their symptoms significantly reduced.
"The women who received the oestrogen made a really good recovery from their auditory hallucinations, that's hearing voices or from their delusional beliefs, that's like they were being followed or other beliefs that weren't true in reality," Professor Jayashri Kulkarni said.
Anna Thomas took part in the trial and said the treatment made a big difference.
"I noticed a significant improvement in my clarity of thought ... that I hadn't had since I was 13 or 14 ... and that was prior to my diagnosis and illness of schizophrenia," she said.
Patients reported some minor side effects like breast tenderness and bloating.
Women were also given mammograms, because of the link with high oestrogen levels and breast cancer.
Researchers are hopeful that the treatment could also be used on men in the future. They are hoping to trial newer forms of oestrogen which act on the brain and do not have the same side effects as traditional female hormones.
The study was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Australian scientists are taking a novel approach in treating women with schizophrenia. They have just published the findings of a cli... more -
Gene mutations reveal schizophrenia's complexity
The three largest genetic schizophrenia studies to date have uncovered several ways in which changes to the genome may increase the risk of developing the condition.
The studies bring to light several common variations that increase the risk slightly, and rarer ones that raise it significantly, researchers say.
While previous studies have suggested several genes with roles in schizophrenia, small sample sizes gave these findings limited statistical significance.
Most recently, differences in copy number variations (CNVs) – chunks of genetic material that are either repeated or missing from the genome entirely – were identified between healthy and schizophrenic people . But the study was too small to implicate specific CNVs in causing the disease.
Quantity matters
Now, in the biggest study of its kind, the International Schizophrenia Consortium has collected further evidence about the role of CNVs in the condition.
The researchers examined the genomes of 3391 schizophrenics and found that they had around 15% more CNVs on average than the 3181 healthy controls.
This supports the idea that the sheer increase in CNVs alone could be a risk factor for schizophrenia.
Another study, led by David St Clair of the University of Aberdeen, UK, and deCODE genetics, Iceland, looked at 66 specific CNVs in 1400 schizophrenics and 33,000 healthy participants.
Missing regions
The team was able to identify several CNVs that are linked to a much higher risk of developing schizophrenia, but occur relatively rarely – in as few as one in 1000 schizophrenics.
They found three missing chromosome regions that raised the risk of developing schizophrenia by as much as 15 times. Importantly, two of these regions were also highlighted in the ISC study above, making it likely that these regions are a real risk factor.
Using yet a different approach, Michael O'Donovan of Cardiff University, UK, and colleagues looked for variations of single "letters" (SNPs) of the genetic code that were significantly more common in people with schizophrenia, occurring in as many as one in 10.
Common variant
In a study of more than 360,000 SNPs, they found three convincing associations in specific genes, one of which increases the risk by about 1%. The gene, called ZNF804A, may play a role in regulating the activity of other genes.
"The variation in that gene makes for a very small increase in risk, but it's also very common," O'Donovan says. "Together, the new studies show that many of us carry some risk genes for schizophrenia, but the people that have the illness simply carry more of them."
"This is a provocative and important set of findings," says Daniel Weinberger, at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. But he adds that the rarity of the genetic variations means that the findings account for less than half a percent of schizophrenia cases.
"We don't know yet if these results will translate to the other 99.5% of people with a schizophrenia diagnosis," he says. "We'll have to further interrogate these regions and see whether common variants within them predict the more common forms of the disorder."
No simple test
There are likely to be many more genetic variants that are associated with schizophrenia coming to light – maybe as many as thousands, says St Clair. "I wouldn't have said that even a year ago, but that's the way it's looking."
That means that a simple genetic test is still a long way off. But both St Clair and O'Donovan believe that identifying some of the genes in the pathway – and where they can be found – is already a big step forward.
Dan Rujescu, a lead author on the deCODE study, likens the situation to that of Alzheimer's disease.
"The findings of the rare Alzheimer's mutations contributed hugely to the understanding of how Alzheimer's works," he says. "One of the hopes is that as more studies like these come out in the near future, we can also understand the physiology of schizophrenia." The three largest genetic schizophrenia studies to date have uncovered several ways in which changes to the genome may increase the ri... more -
Genes for schizophrenia uncovered
"Three separate research projects have pinpointed genetic flaws linked to schizophrenia.
One of these, reported in the journal Nature, could mean a fifteen-fold increase in risk.
However, one of the researchers warned that schizophrenia is so complex genes alone will only ever partially explain the illness at best.
Mental health charities said genetic studies should be matched by work to reduce the known risk factors.
Scientists have suggested that an individual's risk of schizophrenia is roughly half dictated by their genetic make-up, and half by other factors during their lives.
However, on both sides of this equation, much has still to be revealed about the precise causes.
The three large-scale projects have taken a step towards unravelling the genetic picture of schizophrenia."
Seems like we're in the middle of a genetic revolution! "Three separate research projects have pinpointed genetic flaws linked to schizophrenia. ... more -
Can Schizophrenia Be Cured Before It Starts?
A new mix of therapy and medication may stave off psychosis among teens at risk.
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The Power of Higher Powers
In 1979, Thelma Gordon made a request that was considered pretty strange back then: She wanted her church to find a way to welcome and support people who suffered from mental illness.
The priest and the nun that led the congregation didn’t know what to do about the woman, who had schizophrenia herself. But Gordon persisted; she kept at them for years. Connie Rakitan, a member of the same church, remembers that “Thelma pestered the nun, and eventually the nun pestered me to do something about her request.”
In many cases, religious beliefs appear to be associated with lower levels of hopelessness and with less depression. Mental health care professionals are acknowledging it’s time they paid attention to matters of their patients’ faith and spirituality, regardless of their own personal beliefs.
Rakitan has gotten to know countless people and their experiences with mental illness over the past 30 years, and says faith is often the only thing left after the onset of severe mental illness. “They are often estranged from their families. They don’t have jobs anymore. Many can’t drive a car anymore. They’ve lost so much.”
Traditionally, medicine hasn’t accepted or understood nonscientific solutions to problems it considers biological. Not only has the medical community failed to embrace the faith community as a partner in caring for the mentally ill, the feeling has been mutual.
When Chris Summerville was a teenager, he struggled with severe clinical depression that persisted throughout his adult life, often resulting in suicidal ideation. As a Christian, this caused him tremendous guilt. He thought he shouldn’t be experiencing such despair if he prayed hard enough. Summerville became an evangelical pastor at age 17 and continued that vocation for the next 25 years. In his last year as a pastor, he “came out of the closet” about his depression during a sermon.
“It was very awkward for the congregation,” he recalls. “Even though they were very loving, they were shocked that their spiritual leader would have existential despair.” That experience, says Summerville, was one reason he resigned as pastor in 1994.
Medication, says Summerville, accounts for 20 percent of the recovery experience. Eighty percent has to do with “personal medicine”—being at one with nature and creation, as well as spirituality. With personal medicine added to the mix, “consumers tell us they not only cope, but thrive in spite of bipolar [disorder] or schizophrenia.”
Given the past turbulent relations between mental illness and religion, current objections are not surprising. Historically, behaviors caused by epilepsy or schizophrenia led to the belief that the affected individual was not ill but possessed by demons that had to be “cast out.” Some Pentecostal Christians still hold that belief today, and the Church of Scientology has published documents claiming there is no such thing as “mental illness,” and that psychiatry is a fraud.
With so many obstacles, why do people withmental illness continue to ask their caregivers to address matters of faith? “It’s about finding strength for the journey,” says Summerville. “Just because things are hellish today doesn’t mean they will be hellish tomorrow. It’s the concept of hope, the expectation that I can get better and live beyond the devastation, learn how to manage my illness, have strength, and that I’m a person of worth and significance no matter what. I think the recovery model lends itself up for people to open themselves up to a higher power—God—whatever you want to call it. In 1979, Thelma Gordon made a request that was considered pretty strange back then: She wanted her church to find a way to welcome and... more -
Help Save 1-800-SUICIDE
As 1-800-SUICIDE marks its tenth anniversary this year, the hotline needs your help. It was founded in 1998 by Reese Butler in memory of his wife, Kristin who had committed suicide. The Kristin Brooks Hope Center has helped almost three million callers connect to help and hope.
As they enter their second decade of service to the public, continued support is needed to ensure that the confidentiality of every caller is protected. Because they are totally privately funded, they need to prove to the government that they are capable of supporting 1-800-SUICIDE to keep control of the line from being taken over by the federal government.
The money you donate will not only be used to pay the phone bill that connects about 50,000 callers each month to the Hopeline Network, but will also be used to pay for training of online crisis counselors who will provide the same support via online counseling. This is where the young people of today reach out for help. The success of 1-800-SUICIDE is based on individuals in crisis knowing that any personal identifiable information is kept strictly confidential.
The Hope Center’s volunteer staff and Board remain committed to preserving confidential suicide prevention programs. Your action today assures their sustainability!
The Kristin Brooks Hope Center and its national 1-800-SUICIDE hotline is a great asset to our society – one of those private-sector initiatives called a “point of light.” For reasons of their own, certain officials within the government tried to snuff that light. With your help and support together we can prevent that tragedy from occurring and help the Hopeline achieve success in liberating 1-800-SUICIDE from government control permanently. As 1-800-SUICIDE marks its tenth anniversary this year, the hotline needs your help. It was founded in 1998 by Reese Butler in memory ... more -
McCain's radical foreign policy
John Mccain's foreign policy is called "the most radical idea put forward by a major candidate for the presidency in 25 years" by the Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria. John Mccain's foreign policy is called "the most radical idea put forward by a major candidate for the presidency in 25 year... more
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Failings over chip death killer
A report has blamed a "lackadaisical approach" in the criminal justice system, after a man freed from jail killed a bus passenger the same day. A report has blamed a "lackadaisical approach" in the criminal justice system, after a man freed from jail killed a bus pass... more
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Angelic Rudegirl
EMaR is a 24 year-old rudegirl with a difference. She no longer swears, takes drugs, has
sex, drinks or starts fights. Emar has found God. A year ago life couldnt have been more
different- hanging out with one of West London's most notorious gangs, SB (AKA The
Scumbags) where her days were spent on the tracks tagging & mugging people - constantly
in and out of trouble with the police. Her path is now the way of Christ and her goal is to get into bible school, become a pastor and usher the kids from her estate into the open arms of Jesus. However her techniques will be far from the approach of your typical bible basher, she remains one of the UK's top female skaters and intends to use this kudos to influence the lost souls that surround her. EMaR is a 24 year-old rudegirl with a difference. She no longer swears, takes drugs, has ... more -
Jack and Suzie
VC2 Producer, Catherine Day, moves into her car to live next to a homeless couple - Jack 'n Suzie. Here's a love that goes beyond ordinary vows. VC2 Producer, Catherine Day, moves into her car to live next to a homeless couple - Jack 'n Suzie. Here's a love that goes b... more
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Schizophrenia
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Schizophrenia
